THE Andrew Dale Racing team will be out in full force this weekend.
Caulfield Cup weekend is meetings galore, and ADR will have runners feature at five different tracks across two days.
While wet weather threatens to derail proceedings, particularly at Deniliquin, the team will push on with around 20 gallopers in action.
On Saturday, seven runners will attack Deniliquin’s circuit, five will head to Wodonga, three have been accepted at Bendigo and one will run at Wagga, while on Sunday, four (plus two emergencies) will attend Echuca’s meeting.
“It takes a lot of planning to have 16 or 17 runners across two days so it’ll be a busy day for the whole team,” Dale said.
“It’s a big commitment for all staff so I’m really appreciative of their efforts.”
Deniliquin’s Cup meeting will be headlined by Bellman in the feature race who has drawn an ideal gate two and gets down in the weights at a nice 56kgs.
College Dropout (race two) and Parabellum (race six) should also fancy their chances.
“In the cup it looks like there are three main contenders with Craig Weeding’s Big Day Out, Ross Purcell’s Decker and then Bellman,” Dale said.
“Bellman’s nicely placed and weighted well so I can’t see why he won’t be in the finish.
“Parabellum’s our next best at Deniliquin, she’s really well placed in that grade and looks one of the main chances.
“Because there are so many meetings on this weekend we knew jockeys would be pretty hard to come by so we got onto Nathan Punch early and booked him to ride all of our runners which is a great result for the stable.”
At Wodonga, Brenlyn’s Daisy will be looking to bounce back from her first-up run at Leeton in race six’s benchmark 58, while Brenlyn’s Trooper will feature in the same race after a positive last start.
Super View (race four), Garros (race four) and Kiss The Bride (race five) will all run as well.
“The track will be heavy which will bring horses like Garros and Super View into their races a bit more,” Dale said.
“Brenlyn’s Daisy looks a solid chance in her race after finding some trouble last start at Leeton and Brenlyn’s Trooper picked up his form last start at Wangaratta with a third placed finish.
“Kiss The Bride has also been in solid form, he’s got 62.5kgs but he’s used to carrying weights like that so if he’s at his best he’ll be a real chance as well.”
Copperfield rises in grade at Bendigo, featuring in race seven’s benchmark 64 (1300m) with Lachie King booked to ride.
Along with Copperfield, Crimosa and More Importance will go toe-to-toe in race six’s 0-58 (1000m).
“I think all are each-way chances at Bendigo,” Dale said.
“Copperfield steps up in class but has been in great form, gets a senior jockey on board and likes the wet so his profile stacks up.
“More Importance and Crimosa stay in that restricted 0-58 grade where they’ve been racing well in.”
Eamonn’s Memory will then be the sole ADR runner at Wagga where he’ll try his luck in race five’s benchmark 74 (1300m) from gate six.
“It’s the ideal race for Eamonn’s Memory,” Dale said.
“Traditionally he doesn’t love heavy tracks but he pulled one out on a heavy 10 last time he ran on one so you never know.
“It looks a nice race for him and we got a quality jockey on board in Josh Richards.”
And then finally on Sunday, Suspension (race two), Anthemic (race seven), Hells Son (race eight) and Turnaquid (race nine) will run at Echuca.
“Our best at Echuca is Hells Son I reckon – he gets back to restricted 0-58 grade which will be great for him because he’s been racing in benchmark 58/64 grade for a lot of his career,” Dale said.
“So he goes back in class and gets a senior jockey on in Lachie King.
“Turnaquid’s been racing well and steps out to 1400m for the first time this prep, she’s drawn awkwardly but her racing pattern means that shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
“Suspension makes his debut for the stable and we’ve been happy with his progress but we’re just looking for an encouraging run from him.
“And Anthemic will be looking for improvement after his first-up run and a softer track should help that.”
PHOTO: Eamonn’s Memory will run at Wagga on Saturday.
